ASIC says ANZ court decision a lesson in disclosure standards
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More news: In a call to journalists following today's decision, corporate watchdog chair Joe Longo said the matter was a "timely reminder to the market of the standards that are required" under disclosure obligations.
ANZ has said in response to today's court decision that it lodged the appeal "as it believed financial market participants would benefit from further guidance from the Full Federal Court".
What they said: "It would be disingenuous of me to say every aspect is clear, but in this decision, some key aspects have been clarified," Longo said, pointing to the court's clarification that information for disclosure "has to concern the entity".
ANZ had tried to press that information linked to underwriters' decisions never concerned ANZ, "and that point got short shrift by the court", Longo told journalists.
On the $900,000 penalty now to be imposed on ANZ, Longo said the penalty regime at the time of the conduct "was, frankly, very low".
"Since then, the law has changed and had the same breach occurred today, then [we] would have sought much higher penalties," he said.
Longo said ANZ's board should now reflect on the initial court decision, as well as today's Full Court decision.
ANZ loses appeal against ASIC over continuous disclosure breach
The news: A three-judge panel in the Federal Court has thrown out ANZ's appeal of earlier court findings that it had breached continuous disclosure laws in 2015 and should pay a $900,000 penalty.
The context: The disclosure breach was linked to a $2.5 billion share placement in 2015, which also became the subject of since-dropped criminal cartel charges from the competition regulator.
The court found that by failing to notify the ASX that between approximately $754 million and $791 million of the shares offered in the placement was to be acquired by its underwriters rather than placed with investors, ANZ had contravened its continuous disclosure obligations.
The maximum penalty for a single breach of continuous disclosure laws by a corporate entity in 2015 was $1 million.
ANZ was also ordered to pay the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC’s) costs.
What they said: In a media statement following today's Full Federal Court judgment, ASIC chair Joe Longo said the case "confirms how critical continuous disclosure is to maintain market integrity".
The sources: ASIC media release, ASIC press conference, ASX announcement
